Sureshbhai Patel, a 57-year-old from Pij, Gujarat, had flown to the US to look after his 17-month-old grandson. He paid a heavy price for simply walking on the pavement outside his son's house. What started as an innocuous attempt by the cops to question Patel ended up leaving him temporarily paralysed and hospitalised with a fused vertebrae, reports al.com.
A statement was issued by Madison Police on Monday which said that the officer involved had been suspended, and that his act of violence was being probed further.
Meanwhile Patel's son Chirag also narrated his version of the incident. "He was just walking on the sidewalk as he does all the time... They (the police) put him to the ground," he said.
Interestingly Chirag said that his father spoke Gujarati and some Hindi, but not English. The police statement had also mentioned a "communication barrier".
Hank Sherrod, attorney for the family, said that Patel was walking down the street in "broad daylight". "There is nothing suspicious about Mr Patel other than he has brown skin," he added.
According to Sherrod, Patel told the police officers "no English", and repeated his son's house number.
"This is just one of those things that doesn't need to happen... That officer doesn't need to be on the streets," Sherrod further said. The attorney also added that the police resorted to an unnecessary act of violence which left Patel lying bleeding from his face, paralysed and in need of paramedics.
